Canon i9900 vs Epson r2400

[JDArt]

I had the opportunity to compare both of these printers side-by-side over the weekend. My conclusion: The r2400 is significantly enough better to warrant the extra cost. The r2400 prints were sharper, with better color, and the black and whites were definitely nicer. I also saw no advantage to the Canon when printing on glossy paper, often cited as a strong point for the Canon.

[Kevin Barrett]

Originally Posted by JDArt

I had the opportunity to compare both of these printers side-by-side over the weekend. My conclusion: The r2400 is significantly enough better to warrant the extra cost. The r2400 prints were sharper, with better color, and the black and whites were definitely nicer. I also saw no advantage to the Canon when printing on glossy paper, often cited as a strong point for the Canon.

The most recent issue of Practical Photography (a fine U.K. publication) recently did a test comparison between these two printers (and others).
Bottomline: Nothing was close in image quality to the Epson R2400. It would certainly be a nice addition to my toolset.

[dc2]

A friend of mine had an epson A3 printer [cannot remeber exact model ] and switched to the canon i9900 he said the canon was a very easy to set up from scratch compared to the epson .
personanly I haver used an epson so I would not know

[Paul Shields]

The R2400 does look very nice, but you do pay for that quality (in running costs as much as initial price). I wonder how it compares to the Epson R1800?

[JDArt]

With the r2400, for the first time since I've been doing digital photography, I feel that I can own and use just one printer at home. For large stuff, however, I will continue sending files out to be printed (mpix for now).

Yes, supplies are expensive, too expensive, but when are they not with these inkjets?

I have also had only bad experiences with third-party inks, continuous fill systems, and the like, so unfortunately I will buy the OEM inks and work hard on postprocessing before I print, which is probably not a bad thing.

[Mr. Pickles]

Does the 2400 suffer from the long running notion that Epson printers clog, and is the printhead removeable by the end user? Seems like that (both) was a lot of the concern with Epsons. I'd say nobody could really discount their ability to print color images well. I've never had a clogging issue with my 9900 little brother, but my printhead died, and I put a new one in under warranty (by 2 days mind you).

[Kevin Barrett]

Originally Posted by Paul

The R2400 does look very nice, but you do pay for that quality (in running costs as much as initial price). I wonder how it compares to the Epson R1800?

In the same article (from Practical Photography) the R1800 finished about mid-pack. Not bad, but not
too stellar either.

[JDArt]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pickles

Does the 2400 suffer from the long running notion that Epson printers clog, and is the printhead removeable by the end user? Seems like that (both) was a lot of the concern with Epsons. I'd say nobody could really discount their ability to print color images well. I've never had a clogging issue with my 9900 little brother, but my printhead died, and I put a new one in under warranty (by 2 days mind you).

I'm not sure any manufacturer can gloat about the longevity or reliability of printheads. A friend just replaced her second Canon i950 due to repeated printhead clogging. I had to dispense with an Epson 2200 because of repeated clogging of the print head. The r2400 so far has been fine, but I'm knocking on wood.

Print head clogging, and the associated costs of increased ink usage in cleaning cycles, is just one more reason why home printing is an activity that could be classified as borderline insanity.

[Kevin Barrett]

Originally Posted by JDArt

I'm not sure any manufacturer can gloat about the longevity or reliability of printheads. A friend just replaced her second Canon i950 due to repeated printhead clogging. I had to dispense with an Epson 2200 because of repeated clogging of the print head. The r2400 so far has been fine, but I'm knocking on wood.

Print head clogging, and the associated costs of increased ink usage in cleaning cycles, is just one more reason why home printing is an activity that could be classified as borderline insanity.

LOL!

[metalstorm]

I stopped using inkjets to print my photos years ago. How does the new output look?

[ohenry]

I'm reviving this thread to ask the question to Epson R2400 userrs.....How much of an issue is ink clogging in this printer? Epson notoriously wasted ink cleaning the jets. Is this still an issue and does infrequent use exasperate it? I'm at the point where I want to upgrade from my Canon !950 (which does a great job and I'm pleased with) to a wide carraige printer so I can print larger than 8X10 prints. I'm familiar with Canon and lean towards it because of the Epson issue, but I realize that the Epson has some distinct advantages over Canon for longevity and print quality (particularly b/w).

[JDArt]

Originally Posted by ohenry

I'm reviving this thread to ask the question to Epson R2400 userrs.....How much of an issue is ink clogging in this printer? Epson notoriously wasted ink cleaning the jets. Is this still an issue and does infrequent use exasperate it? I'm at the point where I want to upgrade from my Canon !950 (which does a great job and I'm pleased with) to a wide carraige printer so I can print larger than 8X10 prints. I'm familiar with Canon and lean towards it because of the Epson issue, but I realize that the Epson has some distinct advantages over Canon for longevity and print quality (particularly b/w).

My Epson 2200 clogged all the time. I finally had to junk it. I've had the r2400 for a few months and so far have no clogs. Sometimes I think these clog issues are sample-specific, though.

I do now turn the printer off after every time that I use it, as I've heard that doing so parks the heads and can ward off head clogs.

[Neil V]

I was considering upgrading the 2400 as it seem's like enough of an improvment to warrant the cost but I guess I have been lucky with my 2200 as it hasn't clogged once, not even a hiccup!

I think I will wait until my 2200 kicks the bucket before I replace it as the print quality is stellar and if it ain't broke don't fix it...

[ohenry]

Thanks for the replies, JD and Neil. Neil, do you also power off your printer when it is not in use?

[steveb]

I'm 99% certain of geting an R2400 next month. The excellent B&W printing and archival colour are the deciding factors. I've been using an Epson 1290s that produces nice prints, but its prints are not archival, not that I've had any fade over the last 2 years I've owned it. I shoot a lot of B&W, but can currently only print up to A4 archivally, I'm wasting the quality of 4x5 negative scans. I'll finally make up my mind at the Focus on Imaging exhibition.

[Neil V]

Originally Posted by ohenry

Thanks for the replies, JD and Neil.* Neil, do you also power off your printer when it is not in use?

Only once, when I went away for a few weeks.

Otherwise it is on 24/7/365 with a piece of black velvet draped over it...